The Remake of an epic!
The original FF7 was a miracle! It had a huge world, an unprecedented storyline, and groundbreaking graphics for its time (which have aged quite a bit now).
The game takes place in the city of Midgar, where the all-powerful Shinra corporation reigns, a company that has more or less conquered the world. The city is divided into sections where the citizens live, and underneath the surface of each section, the poor live in slums. The protagonist is Cloud Strife, a former Soldier (genetically enhanced warriors who worked for Shinra) who has now become a mercenary and, as a favor to his childhood friend, works for Avalanche, a group of ecoterrorists who believe that the planet's life force is the source of energy.
The remake only covers the Midgar section from the original game. This doesn't mean it's small, as they have expanded it from 7 hours to 40-50 hours. They have turned every room into a whole level, every major enemy is now a boss, every minor NPC has their own side quests and side stories, every gap in the schedule becomes side quest time, and wherever they found room, they added additional storylines and twists.
In addition to this, you will see many changes and differences compared to the old game, where many characters who were supposed to die survive, there is a strong side plot revolving around fate, and in the end, something unique happens that indicates they don't intend to strictly follow the original story.
The battle system has been perfectly translated into action combat, while still retaining the turn-based elements, as each character has an Action Bar, and if you don't use skills with all the characters, you won't get far.
The graphics, music, and overall production value are out of this world! Now you have a much better view of the city's layout no matter where you are, and everything looks huge, epic, and more realistic.
It is a fantastic Remake if you overlook the filler, the narrative changes, and the fact that it is only Part 1 of the overall story.